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Consumable Online Issue 072
==== ISSUE 72 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [March 28, 1996]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Dan Enright, Tim
Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean Eric
McGill, Tim Mohr, Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker
Correspondents: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron,
Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Stephen Jackson, Daniel
Kane, Mario Lia, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott,
Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner
Also Contributing: Joe D'Angelo
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak,
Jason Williams
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this
document must be obtained from the editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
INTERVIEW: Fleming & John - Stephen Jackson
REVIEW: Weapon Of Choice, _Highperspice_ - Joe D'Angelo
REVIEW: Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_ - Bob Gajarsky
REVIEW: Lush, _Lovelife_ - Lee Graham Bridges
REVIEW: Fu Manchu, _In Search Of..._ - Mario J. Lia
REVIEW: Global Communication, _Remotion_ - Lee Graham Bridges
REVIEW: Varnaline, _Man of Sin_ - Dan Geller
REVIEW: McRackins, _In On The Yolk!_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Prolapse, _Back Saturday_ - David Landgren
NEWS: Barenaked Ladies, Black Crowes, Craig Chaquico, LIFEbeat,
Neve Shalom, NJ At Night, Todd Rundgren, Sonicnet Chats
TOUR DATES: AC/DC, Avalanchia, Barenaked Ladies/Bogmen, BE, Frank Black/
Jonny Polonsky, Deftones, Foo Fighters / Amps, Freewheelers,
Gin Blossoms / 3 Day Wheely, Gravel Pit, Gren, Arlo & Abe Guthrie,
Harvest Ministers, Kate Jacobs, Howard Jones, Love and Rockets,
Oasis, Joan Osborne / Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, Poi Dog Pondering,
Professor & Maryann, Rancid/Rocket from the Crypt/O-Matic, Ruby,
Ruth Ruth / Spacehog, Sting, Swales, A Ten O'Clock Scholar,
They Might Be Giants, Tiny Lights, Trip 66, Urchins, Uzjsmedoma,
Velocity Girl, Wrens
Back Issues of Consumable
---
INTERVIEW: Fleming & John
- Stephen Jackson
Fleming McWilliams, who is blessed with a beautiful voice and a
cascade of ravishing red hair, met and later married John Mark
Painter, a musical prodigy in his own right, while studying at
Belmont College in Nashville. Together, they make up one
half of the alternative pop band, Fleming & John; the other
members being Shawn McWilliams (Fleming's brother), who plays
drums, and Stan Rawls, who covers bass for the group. These
days, they're swimming on a rising tide of enthusiasm, following
the 1995 release of their album, _Delusions of Grandeur_ on REX,
an independent label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Having
recently signed with Universal Records, who is re-releasing and
promoting the album, they now stand poised to ride an alternative
wave to a national following. But the journey to where they
presently stand has been a long and winding road from where they
began. Consumable recently was able to talk to the duo.
Consumable: How did you come to Nashville?
Fleming: When I was in high school, there was this guy who
wanted me to get into country music. So he would bring me to
Nashville. I would take days out of school. And my parents
liked him and trusted him. They knew this was all I ever wanted
to do. So they were pretty cool with it. And we would come to
Nashville and he would get me involved with weird little
showcases, a pilot for TNN where Grant Turner from the Grand Ole
Opry was hosting new singers night or something. That's how I
became acquainted with Nashville.
John: I had a friend that moved to Nashville that I came to
visit, and I was thinking about moving here. But my parents
wanted me to be in school. And so I wasn't even thinking about
going to school, I was just going to move here, and we went to
visit a friend of his who went to Belmont and he had this catalog
lying around and I opened it up and saw recording classes, and
music business classes and everything. And I thought, ok, this
is how I can sell my parents on my moving to Nashville.
C: Did you pick up the formal training at Belmont as
far as string arrangements or did you pick that up on your own?
J: Well, I did that when I was real young. Probably the best
thing I did was study theory when I was real young. I got to
where all that was pretty instinctive and I understood it all on
a very basic level. Then I could just listen to music and come up
with my own ideas, and use the theory to write it down.
C: How would you evaluate the time you've spent in
Nashville? Has it been a positive experience?
F: There was a point about three years ago when we were
kind of getting discouraged. We had made our big splash in
Nashville. We had done development deals with companies, and at
that point, to be on an independent label you had to be sort of
underground. They didn't have independent labels for acts like
us, and so we were sort of this in between thing, where we
weren't really pop, and the adult alternative format hadn't
really caught on yet.
There wasn't really a place for us. We had industry
people and record people come to see us play and they liked us
and liked our music and thought we were talented but didn't know
how to market us. They didn't know where we would fit in. We
had been through this over and over. We just didn't know where
to go or what to do. So we thought, let's move to New York and
get a following in New York like we had done in Nashville.
There was an attitude, I think it's changing, but there
was an attitude in the industry from LA and New York that, well
the people in Nashville like 'em, but that's just Nashville.
We thought of moving to New York really seriously, and we would
have if we'd had enough money. We had a publishing deal. We
were signed to EMI Publishing in 1991, shortly after the
Extravaganza, but it was set up on albums.
J: We weren't on the draw.
F: So we couldn't get any more money from EMI until we
signed the record deal, and it had been a couple of years and we
still hadn't signed the record deal because the SBK developmental
deal fell through.
We were in a rut and John was finally getting work as
a session player, where we didn't have to work in a restaurant.
We knew that in New York, we'd have to start all over again and
John wasn't guaranteed any session work in New York. So we came
to EMI and said, "We really want to move to New York. We feel
like we can really do something here, but we need money. We need
help," and they wouldn't help us.
C: Do you think the rock scene in Nashville is
improving; is there some momentum here?
J: Every time there's momentum, something starts to get
going and levels off. There have been several bands in the last
few years that put out records. Some of them are still playing and
some of them aren't.
F: I think it is better now because all the bands have
learned what took us so long to learn, which is that you do your
music, you put it out, however you have to put it out-- whether
you have to put it out on a label or put it out yourself, then go
play out.
C: Can you identify a style or sound that is from
Nashville, like the Seattle sound?
F: The only thing the bands have in common, and this is
another thing getting back to why we stayed in Nashville, I think
it's very song-writer oriented. I think the bands here and people
really know the value of songs and try to write songs. In
Austin, there's an "Austin" sound. If there has to be a Nashville
sound, I don't think we have it.
J: I don't think anybody does. Back then, there was a
definite cow punk, rock-a-billy type thing going. It was very
identifiable. The bands were all cueing off one another. There
could be four bands all playing in one night, and together it
would make sense as a bill, but now it's not like that.
F: I think there are a lot of good musicians here. I
think that a lot of people that kind of grew up around here, grew
up around musicians, studios, and instruments. I know the guys
in Walk the West, and they, probably more than any other band,
have sort of a Nashville sound.
J: Yeah, Jason and the Scorchers and Walk the West have a
lot in common.
C: People say that until a band really breaks big
nationally from Nashville, the scene here is not going to get
better; it's not going to get any easier for bands to get signed.
Some people think that you guys might be the ones to do it.
F: I'd love it. That would be great if we could help out
in some way. I don't know. I think it's hard for people to take.
I think the country music thing overshadows every thing else in
Nashville, and it's really hard for the industry to take
Nashville seriously as a pop music or alternative music scene.
J: I don't think they're going to see it as a scene so much
as they're going to acknowledge that there's some good people
here. I think there will be more of that. In Seattle, I think
there's more of a movement. There's not a movement in Nashville
except just to make music and do well. There's not a genre out
here.
C: The album was done before REX, right?
J: We did most of it before we signed with REX. It was
about 80 percent done and they knew we were working on an album already.
We were thinking about going with RCA, and REX said if we
ever get tired of dealing with RCA, to give them a call. I said,
alright - and a half hour later we had a contract.
F: RCA was serious and they were signing bands who had
proven themselves and we hadn't proven ourselves yet.
J: They were signing the Dave Matthews Band, and he had sold
like a 150,000 records on his own.
F: We were at the point where we were excited
about the stuff we had put on tape, and were really anxious to
make a record. And REX came along and said, ok we're going to
hire college promoters. And they believed in us so much. They
were small and they had this good distribution deal.
J: And it was a one album deal.
F: I don't know if we could have gotten that from anybody
else. I don't think that they would have done it. So it kind of
felt like this is what we have to do to get something out there
and to be able to tour. To be able to move on to the next
level, we had to get a record out somehow.
J: And they were able to do enough with it that we got some
things going in Atlanta and Virginia Beach and a few big
southeast places.
F: They had no money to promote the record but they did
it anyway. They got us on some radio stations.
J: We got enough going to attract the attention of the
Universal people.
C: What happened towards the end? Did it sort of fizzle
out with them?
J: They believed that it was only a matter of time before
someone would approach them and want to buy the record out. They
were prepared for that.
F: But they actually felt that they could be the ones to
break us. And it was almost sad when some other people were
coming with offers because they had known that they would have to
let us go on with other people. But they were really disappointed
because they wanted to be the ones to break us, and they were so close.
They could have done it if they'd had more money.
Some people from Atlanta that work with Uni Distribution, they
had been to our shows in Atlanta, and we were getting some air
play in Atlanta. They told the marketing guy [at Universal],
"You really need to check out this band, Fleming & John."
So they finally got hold of our manager, and we sent them the cd
and they called back and said "We love it. We love the cd."
Then Doug Morris and his partner, Melba Winter, came down and we
had a big meeting at REX, with the REX people and the Rising Tide
(now renamed Universal) people.
J: Doug's first words were, "I think you've got a hit record
and I want it. What do I have to do to get it?"
F: That impressed us right off the bat. We thought, this
is the first time anyone has ever come in and had the guts to say
something like that. For years and years and years people just
ran us through the mill.
J: People would say, "Well I like it but I don't know if
anybody else will."
F: "You all have really great ideas, but then you have to
do something to make it weird. Why don't you just keep it simple
and normal?"
After getting all this input from record people it was
telling us that, if we don't sell the kind of records that they
want us to, then all of a sudden they could be telling us how to
write songs. At least right now, coming into the company, it just
seems like they appreciate what we do and they see us as career
type artists.
Right now we're just really happy at Universal, with
the staff they have. They're really music appreciators. And
they're keeping costs low. They'll spend half of what people
normally spend for a video.
C: Is that getting you some airplay?
J: It's not been released yet. They figure to submit it to
MTV soon. There's like a timing thing. We're doing the Conan
O'Brien show on April 2 and that's going to be a big thing for
us.
C: Let's talk about the music. When you sit down to
write, do you write from bursts of inspiration, or do you, like
some songwriters in Nashville do, slug it out and say "I'm
clocking in and I'm going to write songs today?"
F: No, I could do that. I don't want to just throw
something out, but I wish I had the discipline to sit down and
say "What are my ideas today and get 'em out on paper. We kind
of write slowly because I write the lyrics and the melody, or get
the melody ideas together. I might not have the whole melody to
the song. I might just have a chorus and an idea for the lyrics
and then come to John and sing it to him and say, "I think it
should be like this." Then we kind of work together. But I
initiate the idea, so he has to wait on me.
J: We usually don't finish anything until we need it. We'll
have little fragments of ideas for six months.
C: Do you just work off of feelings, or are there
concrete things that trigger an idea for you?
J: On "A Place Called Love," I'd been working on the tuning,
the intro and the riff in the middle of it, on my own. I was
telling Fleming about it and she had been working on a song,
ironically, in the same key, the same mode.
F: That riff just fit. It was one of those things.
C: So you basically start with a melody that you hear
in your head and you give that to John and see what he comes up
with, as far as the harmonic arrangements?
F: Exactly. I think that's why it works. Usually it's
melody and I think John likes having a melody because it inspires
the voicings that he finds, instead of a counterpart or a counter
melody. It makes it easier for him. It's funny, when we travel,
we don't really get a lot of time to spend alone. This is
something we need to do, but with a lot of people around it's
kind of hard.
You need a little privacy, and on the road you're not
getting privacy. We just bought a small, inexpensive four-track
to carry with us on the road, and we actually put down some
ideas. But that will be great if we can get more time, cause
we're really going to have to write on the road. It's difficult
to do, but we're going to have to.
C: Perhaps I'm reading into it with my own
impressions, but I feel that your music is very affirmative, that
there's a sense of hope expressed in the lyrics; and yet, there
seems to be a certain doubt that accompanies that hope.
F: I think that's very true. We enjoy life. But I think
that the doubts that I do have kind of creep out into the music.
"I'm Not Afraid" is probably a psychologist's dream. It was
written five years ago when I was first beginning to feel that I
was an adult. All of a sudden there was this world, and I was an
adult living in this world and it was scary. Before John and I
got married, it was actually written as a quirky kind of love
song. I'm afraid of all these things but I'm not afraid of you.
C: It's an interesting idea that expresses at the same
time the fear and the hope and the trust that you invest in
someone.
F: That's really what life is, I think. You have hope and
you have fears. You try to learn to cope with the fear.
Fleming and John's debut album, _Delusions of Grandeur_,
was re-released nationwide on March 26.
---
REVIEW: Weapon Of Choice, _Highperspice_ (Loosegroove/Sony 550)
- Joe D'Angelo
It's one thing to be influenced by another band. Everyone can
cite at least one band that has made a direct impact on their lifestyle
and, consequently, on their music. I might have been a completely
different person had I not heard Pink Floyd's _The Wall_ at such a young
age. But when influence translates into mimicry, problems arise.
Weapon Of Choice are influenced by some of my favorite bands,
P-Funk, Sly and the Family Stone, Fishbone and one of my least favorite,
Steely Dan. After hearing Weapon of Choice's direct imitations, I now
tolerate Steely Dan and cherish the others as priceless treasures.
With a distinctly West Coast sound, Weapon Of Choice ringleader
Lonnie "Meganut" Marshall, along with his seven circus cronies, released
_Highperspice_ hoping to fill the funk-pop void left when the mainstream
retreated from deep soul and worthwhile grooves. Good luck. To
permanently fill a void, originality is essential. Mimicry may
temporarily sate, but it is only a pacifier. When it's gone, hunger for
the original intensifies.
Weapon Of Choice's worthiest boon is that, taken at face value,
they make music that is essentially kind-spirited and fun. Songs like,
"Blindside," with a digable bassline and catchy chorus, and "Spade," a
hip-hop-fueled poke at racism, leave you humming along and tapping your
feet, although you'll swear you've tapped this beat before. Despite a
blatant P-Funk hook, the haunting "Count Maculuv" is both
blacksploitaciously humorous and genuinely moving. _Highperspice_ is a
great drive-with-the-top-down, summer-roadtrip soundscape.
For the true funk aficionado, _Highperspice_ does not overwhelm
with its innovativeness; rather, it may disappoint for its lack thereof.
However, if freaky exuberant fun is what you crave, _Highperspice_ will
soothe your pangs with an unobtrusively smooth salve.
---
REVIEW: Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_ (Scotti Bros.)
- Bob Gajarsky
Weird Al Yankovic, the king of parodists, has returned with
his latest sendoff on today's pop stars, _Bad Hair Day_.
Five parodies grace this album, with two of them hitting a bullseye.
"Amish Paradise", a take-off of the Coolio/L.V. #1 hit "Gangsta's Paradise",
and "Gump", using the music from the Presidents of the United States
hit "Lump", both rank in the Al hall of classics, for their humorous lyrics
and well-played musical backing. Older fans of Soul Asylum who insinuate
"pop sellout!" with their latest release will find some justification
as Al turns "Misery" into "Syndicated Inc.", an average ode to today's
television re-runs.
Unfortunately, the U2 song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
(which gets transformed into the dentist song "Cavity Search") and the TLC
penned "Waterfall" (now "Phony Calls") are both boring -in their lyrical
content as well as performance. Even the appearance of Bart Simpson and
Homer's favorite bartender, Moe, can't save "Phony Calls".
His original songs, which often get overlooked, are sometimes
musical gems of a format - witness prior homages to the Talking Heads
("Dog Eat Dog") and the Devo dedication "Dare To Be Stupid". Two new
ones continue this tradition: "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is a long
overdue tip of the hat to the eccentric early days of They Might Be
Giants, and "Callin' In Sick" points up to the Seattle scene including
Nirvana's "Come As You Are". And, as always, the "Alternative Polka"
medley, is good for a laugh.
The latest release by Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_, won't
win any converts to the king of parody's camp - and this release won't
generate any monster sales. But, those who are Close Personal Friends
of Al will want to purchase this disc - and web surfers will want to
check out more information at http://www.loop.com/~bermuda/index.htm
---
REVIEW: Lush, _Lovelife_ (4AD/Reprise)
- Lee Graham Bridges
After several listens to this album, I put it aside and hoped I
really wouldn't have to review it. But I soon realized that I have to tell
people about this album--that I have to tear up the newest release from one
of my most favorite bands, Lush.
What a disappointment I have found _Lovelife_ to be. From all the
pre-release chatter on the Internet, and others' attempts at describing of
Lush's new sound, I tried to avoid expecting much. I wish I could make a
lot of intelligent commentary about what Lush sounds like on this album, but
from a true fan's more emotional viewpoint, it is basically just far more
dry and meaningless than what I expected.
But what makes this album an atrocity is not just one single flaw,
but a combination of failures. One problem is the full degeneration of the
band's ability to create their trademark ambience, at least in the recorded
format. The second is that most of their beautiful musical structure,
nature of chords, song's progression, etc., are also lacking on _Lovelife_,
and hence, so is the warmth and vivacity contained in previous works. The
third is the set of trite, substandard lyrics Miki and Emma wrote for this
album. You may even find yourself wondering, "is this the same band?"
The album revolves almost entirely around emotional turmoil in
relationships. "Ladykillers" is about manipulative men. "Single Girl"
presents the ups and downs of single life. "The Childcatcher" explores the
problematic age gap in a relationship. "Ciao!" relates a very happy
separation and features guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp. "Olympia" is
some kind of bittersweet song about life's difficulties.
The press release describes "Papasan" and "Tralala" as "exercises in
heart-wrenching balladry." It's strange this is said when nothing on
_Lovelife_ matches the potency of previous "ballads" like "Never-Never" or
"Desire Lines" from _Split_. Supposedly "'Ladykillers' and 'Single Girl'
positively drip with adrenaline" and "'Last Night' [exudes] an affecting
eerieness." Wrong again. Although "Ladykillers" and "Single Girl" are very
catchy tunes, and the trippy, dark "Last Night" is the only example of
Lush's classic musical ability on _Lovelife_, you still haven't heard
adrenaline or eerieness unless you've heard Lush's _Spooky_.
Current fans may have a very hard time with Lush's sudden
abandonment of that which made them a true stand-out, and so dear to those
fans. By the same token, people enjoying _Lovelife_ with no prior exposure
to Lush may find themselves very disoriented upon listening to past
releases. This is how _Lovelife_ has created an unappealing gap in what is
an otherwise impressive history. Even without referring back to Lush's
exceptional previous work, _Lovelife_ is, at best, nothing special.
No decent music fan expects a band to stay with the same style
throughout their history, or to not jump to some other style. But what Lush
has switched to is not a style so much as a current musical trend...a bad
brew concocted either because the band really does like this sound, to sell
more records, or because they forgot to show off their talent this time.
---
REVIEW: Fu Manchu, _In Search Of..._(Mammoth)
- Mario J. Lia
With thick distorted minor chords, and monster gooves, Black Sabbath
defined the sounds of 70's rock. Sabbath's songs were filled with
power chords broken by quick and memorible riffs. Many bands have tried
to copy that sound, and they have failed.
Next up to bat is Fu Manchu. This is their debut on Mammoth and it
surly won't be the last. For those of you who have not yet heard Fu
Manchu let me set the scene for you.
Scott Hill has the fuzzy distortion of his guitar turned up well past
10 providing an massive wall of sound. Eddie Glass has a guitar that
sounds like a toy stun gun, but make no mistake, he shoots to kill.
His awsome riffs and supersonic solos will make any Randy Rhoads fan
stand up and listen. They are backed by Ruben Romano (drums) and Brad
Davis (bass), who provide a stong backbone for this power-house band.
On top of it all are Hill's lyrics and voice. "The lyrics aren't
about one thing; they're usually about nothing." he claims in a deadpan
voice. A sample of the lyrics from the song "Seahag" will show you he's
right: "I'm living in a freak show/I sink down low/I got away
ridin'/I'm king of the road".
Nevertheless fans of early Sabbath and the likes of Monster Magnet you
will search no more, and love every minute of _In Search Of..._. And
for those of you who desperately need deep and emotional lyrics there's
always the new Mariah Carey album.....
---
REVIEW: Global Communication, _Remotion_ (Dedicated/HitIt!)
- Lee Graham Bridges
On the inside of the plain-looking three-tone _Remotion_ jewel box,
under the clear plastic that holds the CD, one can see Mark Pritchard and
Tom Middleton, otherwise known as Global Communication, posing for the
camera. With _Remotion_, these two very ordinary seeming men create
something similar to what a lot of people might simply call techno.
Yet there's much more to this record than that. _Remotion_ is made
up of their remixes of songs by Chapterhouse ("Delta Phase," "Epsilon
Phase"), Jon Anderson ("Amor Real"), Warp 69 ("Natural High"), Reload ("Le
Soleil et La Mer"), The Grid ("Rollercoaster"), and Nav Katze ("Wild
Horses"). The remixes on _Remotion_ are slow and low--just as the two think
the music should be. According to their manifesto, the goal is to "create
an awareness of personal emotions within people, and to stimulate a state of
relaxation."
"People are starting to lose touch with themselves as individuals,"
Middleton explains, "through techno overdose and the whole rigmarole of '90s
lifestyle. We're saying hold on, slow down and chill out a minute. Take it
easy, you're a human being." So is this just chill-out music, to be played
in the background at parties? Not really.
The album is very easygoing, but this is supposed to allow for a
greater exploration of the human senses. Pritchard and Middleton want the
listener to consider how the music affects the way they feel, and perhaps
how it stimulates other senses. "People take their senses for granted--we
want to make people more aware that they can feel these things," says
Middleton. Which obviously means taking some individual time to let the
music do its work.
Global Communication apply this concept to _Remotion_, delivering
the relaxation one would expect, and more.
You can order directly from HitIt! Recordings (phone: 312.440.9012,
fax: 312.440.9241, e-mail: hitit@aol.com). For more info on Global
Communication, check out their website at
[http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~cs92bbm/gc/gc.html].
---
REVIEW: Varnaline, _Man of Sin_ (Zero Hour)
- Dan Geller
Upon listening to this cd for the first time, I began to wonder how
this relatively new indie label, Zero Hour, is able to release so many
records. It seems to me every time I turn around there is a new band with
a release on this label (Grover, Space Needle, etc.). But then as the disc
played on I realized this label signs good bands. And, I guess since the
bands are good it can afford to keep putting this stuff out knowing that
someone will buy it.
Varnaline's first release _Man of Sin_ shows some real potential.
A single man, Anders Parker, recorded this entire album on his own and
proved himself somewhat of a good (there is that word again) song
craftsman. According to the press kit the songs on this recording were all
written "through a guitar, a sheet of paper and a voice." This is a good
thing; as a musician, a good rule for me has always been if you can play
a song on guitar alone and still think it is good, it probably is. But
Parker did not stop there. Anyone could write a bunch of mediocre songs
on a guitar so Parker had to do something to set them apart. This something
was production.
The production on this cd is textured and varied. Unfortunately, not
all the chances Parker took worked out. Slower, more guitar oriented
songs such as "Thorns & Such" and "Little Pills" seem lost in the
translation from guitar to finished product. They are still acoustic
guitar songs, and in the context of this album that is a bad thing
since many of the tracks became so much more. Some of the more
successful tracks on the record include more upbeat songs like "The
Hammer Goes Down" and "In the Year of Dope". These songs have a
bigger sound that would actually lead one to believe that Varnaline is a
band and not just a guy with some songs and a lot of equipment. Since
this outfit is now a bonified band with the addition of John Parker and Jud
Ehrbar, future releases will hopefully continue down this path of actual
"band" songs. Tracks that turned out the best were the weirder ones.
Songs like "Dust" and "No Decision No Disciple" very wonderfully reflect
Anders' roots in bands like the aforementioned Space Needle (he is
referred to as "the elusive third member" of this band). These songs have
the low-fi fuzz of the _Voyager_ cd which is by far the best release from
this New York label. The techniques used to record tracks like these is
very interesting. The songs still retain the subtleties that make them
interesting and then are coupled with the droney din of tape hiss. The
Zero Hour bands seem to know how to do this in a way I have not heard
before and it really works. This technique works for Parker's songs
extremely well since the undermixing of vocals and guitars does not allow
any one instrument to stand out and leaves space for everything. It is at
times like this that you realize the concept of Varnaline is a very solid
one that holds much promise for the future, if the addition of the other
musicians allows the evolution of the project into an actual band.
---
REVIEW: McRackins, _In On The Yolk!_ (Shredder)
- Reto Koradi
These three guys from Vancouver bring a whole new dimension to the
great chicken or egg dilemma. Chicken and eggs are standing on stage
together, and they play punk! Things have gotten even weirder recently with
the McRackins, the (drummer) chicken was replaced by a dog...
Funny dresses are not all they have to offer, though. There's a lot
of fun shining through in the music. Granted, it's nothing fancy or
new. This is good old punk rock, only that the lyrics are about vegetables
instead of anarchy. Sort of like the Ramones on steroids, or Toy Dolls meet
Suicidal Tendencies. If we were one of those college mags, and not a
cultivated E-zine, we'd probably say that this album "kicks ass". Well,
we can still say it kicks ass. As a fan of this genre, you're guaranteed
to thoroughly enjoy _In On The Yolk!_. The McRackins are also proud of
their productivity, they plan to reach the mark of 100 songs released
in 15 months with another 10" in April.
The CD can be mail ordered for $9 (postpaid in the U.S.) from
Subterranean Mailorder, P.O. 2530, Berkeley, CA 94702. E-mail to
mel_cheplowitz@bmug.org for more information.
---
REVIEW: Prolapse, _Back Saturday_ (Big Cat)
- David Landgren
A swirling maelstrom of the rantings of Mark E. Smith, the
grinding guitar work of Thurston Moore and sweet girlie-pop vocals of
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) thunder down the drain with enough energy
to wake the dead. All this and more in the shape of a Leicester
six-piece. She (Linda Steelyard) sings, he (Mike Derrick) shouts in a
thick semi-comprehensible Scottish brogue. This, on top of some serious
hardline disc(h)ordant rock that has its roots in Can. At times an
almost industrial rock sound with bass (Mick), guitar (David and Pat)
and drums (Tim).
Their own claimed refernces, comparisons and influences include
early Fall, Sonic Youth, Faith Healers, Pavement, Pere Ubu, Joy Division
and so on. I would also throw in a serious comparison with Blurt, and to
a certain extent, the ringing guitars of early Cure.
They would want you to believe that Prolapse is "where yer anal
organs fall out of yer backside", haha! they're just joshing. They
actually sound like a reasonable loveable bunch; in any case they have a
fine ear for a tune.
This is Prolapse's second album. The first, _Pointless Walks to
Dismal Places_ was released in the UK in 1994. All in all, this one is a
very refreshing listen. My theory is that the days of the all-male band
are dead and gone. The most interesting stuff happening now is with
groups with both boys *and* girls. And with the dual (duelling) vocals
of Kate and Mike, Prolapse have a lot going for them.
The comparisons are easy to make. The first track, "Mein
Minefield, Mine Landmine", starts off in a gathering wail of feedback,
and then kicks off very much like the opening track to Sonic Youth's
_Goo_. After that we're into a ringing Mary Chain-style guitar piece,
"TCR", with Kate's vocals clearly soaring over the top of it all, and
then "Framen Fr. Cesar", where we meet Mike and are acquainted with his
fondness of bellowing through a megaphone, or some weird device that
renders his words nigh on incomprehensible. But then, that may also be
the Scottish blood in him. Closest comparison would be Blurt -- a heavy,
rhythmic boogie.
Introductions over, we get into the meat of the album. "Every
Night I'm Crucified (7,000 Times)" is a massive track. I think they
intend this one to be the single. It's got a big, fat drum track;
essentially without vocals, and ends with the most haunting guitar wail,
the kind that sends you into a retrospective trip, as anyone who has
heard of "All I Want" or "Too Personal" from the Mekons will know (which
for some reason came to mind when listening to this).
My favourite track on this album is "Zen Nun Deb", an early-Cure,
Joy-Division-with-girl-vocals piece. Probably not as representative of
them as some of the others, but that's probably why it stands out so
much ahead of the rest.
The only real weak point: "Irritating Radiator", which is just
that; sounds like a noisy, aimless jam and the taping equipment happened
to be switched on. On the other hand, there is "Flex", long slow
instrumental, very Sonic Youth, that slowly winds up into a pounding,
blistering rocker; the kind that sends the mosh pit into a frenzy.
Definitely not the one you'll hear on the radio - the damned thing must
go on for quarter of an hour. The album closes with a melancholic dirge,
"Strain Contortion of Bag" as if the whole band were suffering total
exhaustion; no doubt they were.
To sum up, there's really only one less-good track in the whole
lot of _Back Saturday_, which makes for a pretty good batting average.
Long may they play.
---
NEWS: > The Barenaked Ladies will be at Tower Records on Sunset
in Los Angeles on March 28 at 1 pm.
> The Black Crowes next album will be titled _Three Snakes
and One Charm_. It is currently being mixed, and is tentatively set
for a summer 1996 release.
> Former Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico will be
having a real-time, audio presentation of his April 9 concert at San
Francisco's Great American Music Hall. Information on the concert,
his latest release _A Thousand Pictures_, as well as other information
can be found at http://www.jazzonline.com/radio/craig2
> LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS organization, will be
honored by the Minority Task Force On AIDS (MTFA), on April 29, 1996 to
recognize their work for launching UrbanAID 4 LIFEbeat, an AIDS awareness
campaign and mega concert, focusing on the urban community. Motown Records
President Andre Harrell, LIFEbeat Executive Director Tim Rosta, and
supermodel/journalist and LIFEbeat Boardmember Veronica Webb will be
among those honored at the gala dinner, "Harlem Nights", at the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine.
> On Tuesday, April 30, The American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat
al-Salam will host a benefit concert on behalf of the Neve Shalom/Wahat
al-Salam village and school (where Jews and Palestinians live and work
peacefully, since 1972), at New York City's Merkin Hall. Internationally
acclaimed Israeli-born recording artist David Broza, whose grandfather,
Wellesley Aron, co-founded the village, headlines a bill that includes
Jordanian-born percussionist Hani Naser and David Amram. Tickets for the
benefit concert are priced at $35.00 - $500.00 and are available by
contacting American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, 121 Sixth Avenue,
#507, New York, NY 10013 or calling (212) 226-9246.
>njatnight has just opened a web page at http://www.njatnight.com
which caters to the entertainment industry in the New Jersey and
surrounding areas. njatnight posts calendars for night club events including
rock, dance, comedy and others, and links to artist's and club directories
and their web pages. In addition, njatnight lists local concert events,
has online chat pages, publishes news articles and includes a directory
of music/entertainment and rock-related websites.
> Todd Rundgren has released two complete music videos from his 1993
interactive album _No World Order_ - "Change Myself" and "Fascist Christ" -
to the Internet and Compuserve communities at no charge to viewers. These
are available at the National Association of Music Shareware World Wide
Web site (NAMSnet 2000), located at http://www.mw3.com/nams/ and is hosted
by Music Interactive.
> Upcoming chats on Sonicnet include: April 1, 7 Year Bitch,
7:30 pm: http://www.sonicnet.com and on Prodigy (Jump SONICNET): April 4,
Chuck D., 7 pm. Onyx will appear on April 9 at 7pm on the web site and
at 8 pm on Prodigy.
---
TOUR DATES
AC/DC
Apr. 1 St. Louis, MO Keil Center
Apr. 2 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena
Apr. 4 Dallas, TX Reunion Arena
Avalanchia
Mar. 29 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Apr. 3 Boston, MA Avalon
Apr. 4 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Barenaked Ladies / Bogmen
Apr. 1 Phoenix, AZ Gibson's
Apr. 3 Denver, CO Paramount
Apr. 4 Boulder, CO Glen Miller Ballroom
Apr. 5 Fort Collins, CO Lincoln Center
Apr. 7 Minneapolis, MN Fitzgerald Theatre
Apr. 8 Madison, WI Barrymores
Apr. 9 St. Louis, MO Westport Playhouse
BE
Apr. 9 Commerce, TX East Texas State College (w /Radish)
Apr. 10 Arlington, TX J. Gilligan's
Frank Black / Jonny Polonsky
Apr. 2 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
Apr. 3 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
Apr. 5 Grand Rapids, MI Reptile House
Apr. 6 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
Apr. 8 Bloomington, IN Second Story
Apr. 9 Columbia, MO Blue Note
Apr. 10 St. Louis, MO Galaxy
Deftones
Apr. 1 Norfolk, VA Bait Shack
Foo Fighters / Amps
Apr. 2 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
Apr. 3 Toronto, ON Concert Hall
Apr. 5 Worcester, MA Worcester Auditorium
Apr. 6 New York, NY Roseland
Apr. 7 Baltimore, MD UMBC Fieldhouse
Apr. 9 Raleigh, NC Ritz
Apr. 10 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Park
Freewheelers
Apr. 8 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Apr. 10 Ottawa, ON Barrymore's Music Hall
Gin Blossoms / 3 Day Wheely
Mar. 28 York, PA Wolf Gym
Mar. 29 New Rochelle, NY Mulcahy Gym
Gravel Pit
Mar. 28 New York, NY Brownie's (w/The Figgs)
Gren
Mar. 28 Tallahassee, FL Down Under
Arlo & Abe Guthrie
Apr. 4 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall
Apr. 5 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
Apr. 6 Wausau, WI Wausau Grand Theatre
Apr. 7 Oshkosh, WI Oshkosh Opera House
Harvest Ministers
Apr. 6 New York, NY Sine
Apr. 9 Boston, MA Phoenix Landing
Apr. 10 New York, NY Fez
Kate Jacobs
Apr. 6 Middletown, NY The Listen Inn
Howard Jones Acoustic Tour
Apr. 10 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
Love and Rockets
Apr. 1 Washington, DC 930 Club
Apr. 2 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Apr. 3 Boston, MA Paradise
Apr. 5 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's
Apr. 6 Toronto, ON Lee's Place
Apr. 7 Cleveland, OH Odeon Theatre
Apr. 9 Chicago, IL Cabaret Metro
Apr. 10 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Oasis
Apr. 10 Vancouver, BC PNE Pacific Coliseum
Joan Osborne
Apr. 1 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
Apr. 2-3 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Apr. 5 Richmond, VA The Barn
Apr. 6 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
Apr. 8-9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Poi Dog Pondering
Apr. 1-2 Boston, MA Paradise
Apr. 4 Northampton, MA Pearl St.
Apr. 6 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr. 9 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
Professor & Maryann
Apr. 9 New York, NY Rodeo Bar
Rancid/Rocket from the Crypt/O-Matic
Apr. 2 Columbus, OH Newport
Ruby
Mar. 29 Vancouver, BC Starfish Room
Mar. 30 Portland, OR (KNRK Radio Show)/venue: La Luna
Mar. 31 Seattle, WA Moe
Apr. 2 Salt Lake City, UT DV8
Apr. 3 Denver, CO BluebirdTheatre
Apr. 6 St. Louis, MO The Galaxy
Ruth Ruth
Mar. 30 St. Louis, MO Galaxy
Apr. 1 Columbia, MO Blue Note
Apr. 2 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
(remainder of dates with Spacehog)
Apr. 4 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Apr. 5 Denver, CO Blue Bird Cafe
Apr. 6 Salt Lake City, UT DV-8
Apr. 8 Vancouver, BC Town Pump
Apr. 9 Seattle, WA DV-8
Apr. 10 Portland, OR La Luna
Sting
Apr. 2 Toulouse, France Palaise des Sports
Apr. 3 Bordeux, France Patinoire
Apr. 5 Lyon, France Tony Garnier
Apr. 6 Marseilles, France Le Dome
Apr. 7 Toulon, France Zenith Omega
Swales
Apr. 4 Champaign, IL Mabel's
A Ten O'Clock Scholar
Mar. 28 Memphis, TN Barristers
Mar. 29 Chicago, IL Fireside Bowl
Mar. 30 Cleveland Heights, OH Grogg Shop
Mar. 31 Battle Creek, MI Basement
Apr. 1 Kalamazoo, MI Club Soda
Apr. 2 Bloomington, IN Bluebirds
Apr. 3 Columbus, OH Stache's
Apr. 5 Lexington, KY Area 51
Apr. 6 Dayton, OH Submarine Galley
Apr. 7 Bowling Green, OH Howard's
They Might Be Giants / Swales
Apr. 1 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre
Apr. 2 Champaign, IL Virginia Theatre
Tiny Lights
Apr. 6 New Brunswick, NJ Court Tavern
Trip 66
Mar. 28 Wilmington, DE The Barn Door
Mar. 29 Wilkes Barre, PA Manis Green (WDRE show)
Mar. 31 New York, NY Coney Island High
Apr. 06 Washington DC The 15 Minute Club
Apr. 10 New York, NY Don Hill's
Urchins
Apr. 4 Pomona, NJ Stockton State College
Apr. 6 New Brunswick, NJ Court Tavern
Uzjsmedoma
Apr. 1 San Francisco, CA Paradise Lounge
Apr. 9 Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club
Velocity Girl
Apr. 5 Charlottesville, VA Trax
Apr. 6 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's
Apr. 7 Columbia, SC Rockafella's
Apr. 9 Jacksonville, FL Club Down Under/Florida State
Apr. 10 Orlando, FL Sapphire Supper Club
Wrens
Apr. 1 Hollywood, CA Whiskey A Go Go
---
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===
